Receiving one out of five is disappointing in most cases, but a Valley Metro Transportation spokeswoman said public transit’s take on 1 in 5 can improve air quality and the environment.
This logic is the “Try 1 in 5 Rule” of Rideshare Week, an event created by Valley Metro to promote taking public transportation one day out of the work week.
A public event will be held at CityScape Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in preparation for the week, which starts Feb. 26 and ends March 3. Booths with information on public transportation options will be available along with refreshments and entertainment, Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said.
“Our intent is to help improve air quality and reduce commute trips,” Tierney added. “We want to create options and awareness of those options for commuters. We try to encourage them to make use of the alternate modes of public transportation.”
Commuters who pledge on Friday will receive a T-shirt and be entered in a raffle for prizes such as suite packages for the Phoenix Coyotes, $200 Costco gift cards and a signed Arizona Cardinals football.
Tierney said to show the effects of alternate modes of transportation, Valley Metro recorded data from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 on sharetheride.com where approximately 8,000 people logged when they took public transportation.
The site kept track of how much money and gas people saved by taking alternative transportation last year.
People saved more than 9 million miles, which resulted in saving 5 million pounds of greenhouse gases and 265,000 gallons of gasoline by using transit options, she said.
Participants this year will also be encouraged to create an account and keep a record of their progress.
However, Detaura Manada, a Sun Devil Dining employee, said she is skeptical of how effective Rideshare Week will be. Manada takes a bus to work and said she doesn’t think people with cars will be persuaded to take public transportation.
“Buses already charge too much,” Manada said. “The bus is not always reliable. Something might happen, and then they’re late for work.”
Yet Tierney said she thinks more people participate each year.
“Every year there seems to be a greater momentum for the options, especially new options like the light rail,” she said. “Public transportation saves time, money, stress and really has a lot of benefits for the community and commuter.”
Contact the reporter at alicia.m.canales@asu.edu.
